Andy Robinson says naming both Blair and Cusiter as captains isn't a cop-out

ANDY ROBINSON'S decision to ditch common practice and name two players as joint captains of the Scotland rugby team will be viewed as either a masterstroke or a catastrophic act of folly depending on how the team go in their first three matches under the new coach – against Fiji, Australia and Argentina – later this month.

Until those games are out the way it is bound to be a major point of debate among armchair experts across the Scottish rugby community – but Robinson is clearly satisfied that he has made the right choice for the right reasons.

On a crisp autumnal afternoon in St Andrews yesterday, after a vigorous final session of this week's training camp, he tried to explain the logic behind his decision and insisted that he had not ducked the first really tough call of his tenure in charge of the national team. "I make a choice as to who is playing – there is going to be no cop-out there," said Robinson, who has already selected his starting XV, which will be announced on Monday. "I have to select one of them. They are going to be competing for places, and both know that there is a genuine competition there.

"If you lose, people look at all different reasons why you lose. I think this will allow us to perform at our very best and that's why I've decided to go this way. I've got to deal with the criticism as it comes.

"But what we have got is two guys who are developing as captains together. If we keep doing the same as we have always done we'll get what we have always got. Part of what we've got to look at is how we develop leadership in the squad. This is a different approach but why do we have to say that because it is different it is not going to work?

"Yes, questions will be asked of this, but I think we have two outstanding players and we need whichever one is on the pitch at any time to be at their best so that we get a full 80 minutes performance.

"Both players have been vying for the same spot for a number of years, and the coaches before me have chosen one and the other has suffered a wee bit because of that. Sharing the leadership in the camp as we prepare for games will help both players to focus on their own game. An important part of the captaincy is that whichever player starts must deliver. It's about how they work hand in hand with each other and develop that relationship."

Robinson revealed that he became convinced that the pair could share the responsibility of captaining the side after taking them out for dinner to discuss the possibility of this unorthodox move.

"I might as well have not been there. I paid for it but that was the only thing I contributed. It was fantastic to see the two of them chatting to each other and getting along socially," he said.

Very cosy – but should we not be concerned about the lack of edge between two young men who have spent the past five years vying against each other for international recognition? Top level rugby is a harsh environment where nice guys tend to come last – and last is where Scotland have tended to end up in recent years. Robinson avoided addressing this point directly, opting to talk instead about the ferocious intensity he had just witnessed out on the training paddock. "You don't see how these guys train against each other," he said. "We've had one punch thrown today, although not by either of those two.

"That's part of training – get on with it. It's a tough game and there is going to be antagonism, and I like that. I think it helps."

There is no doubt that if Robinson succeeds in building a team in his own image then a winning mentality is one thing that won't be lacking. Part of his plan in achieving this is to empower players to take responsibility for pulling the overall standard of the team upwards.

"Captaincy is important and the other leaders – the attack, defence, line-out and scrum captains – also have an important part to play, and the main thing we want from them is that when they are on the pitch they are performing at their very best," said Robinson. "I like to think this is a tool to enable them to play at their very best, because if we've got Mike Blair and Chris Cusiter playing their very best they will facilitate the side to perform."

Too many chiefs and not enough Indians? Well, that is another of those questions which cannot be properly answered until the deed is done.

"Let's try it, I believe in it, the players totally understand what this is about, so let's go out and do it," concluded Robinson.